


Runner on Third

by minhui



Category: Ookiku Furikabutte | Big Windup!, ダイヤのA | Daiya no A | Ace of Diamond
Genre: Crossover, Gen, M/M, joint practice, practice game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-07
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-04-13 11:58:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4521099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minhui/pseuds/minhui
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Everyone!” Momoe’s voice called practice to a grinding halt, her excitement palpable as she ran onto the pitch. Everyone turned to give her their full attention as she came to a stop in the middle of the diamond, next to Mihashi, who had been pitching with Abe. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and grinned.</p>
<p>“We have a sort of joint practice, practice game with Tokyo’s Seidou High School,” she shouted, “It’s actually tomorrow!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Bullpen

**Author's Note:**

> im sorry this is so messy o my god  
> its probably a little ooc too bc its been a while since ive rewatched oofuri !  
> i really hve no idea how to tag this fic its a little bit fluffy w abemiha and a little bit silly w everyone else  
> theres no kissing sorry if u were looking forwards to that!  
> every oofuri daiya crossover ive read left off before actually getting to the practice game so. im here to fix that.

The first string stood stock still as the beat-up looking bus pulled up next to them. As it came to a jolting stop, excited shouting could be heard inside. The door opened, and a short woman stepped out first, followed by a tall boy with a shaved head and white glasses. After those two, two people tried to exit the bus at the same time, a very short boy with freckles, and a slightly taller boy with messy orange hair. The freckled boy was shouting, and the orange haired boy was just trying to get off the bus. Eijun stood on his toes to get a look at them, nudging Haruichi’s side in glee. Those two seemed like they would be fun. As he opened his mouth to whisper something, a cacophonous shout broke the sort-of-calm of the morning. The freckled boy just laughed, and let the orange haired boy off first, following shortly behind. The next boy off the bus was stocky, and had a mean look on his face. He seemed to be the source of the shout, muttering under his breath.

 

As the rest of the boys streamed off the bus, lining up in order, Eijun was struck with how young they all were. They all seemed to be first years, most of them hadn’t even hit their growth spurts yet, and they were so scrawny. He glanced to his side, looking at the second and third years of the first string, and back to the boys of Nishiura. They were so small, in comparison. To his surprise, the shy orange haired boy took his place next to the captain of the team, the spot specifically reserved for the ace, the angry boy next to him in the catcher’s spot. Then, a girl holding a dog got off the bus, and stood next to the coach, the short woman who had been the first off the bus.

 

Kataoka nodded at the woman, who smiled widely. Her grin reminded Eijun of Miyuki’s, and he shivered. She may appear to be harmless, but she most certainly was a threat. She coughed a few times to clear her throat, and then began to speak.

 

“Thank you so much for having us!” she began, crossing her arms over her chest and laughing, before turning to her team.

 

“This is our captain. I’ll let him introduce everyone.” she grinned, and Hanai nodded, a blush dusting his cheeks and he spoke, “I’m Hanai Azusa, I play center and right field.”

 

He turned, and gave their ace a nervous grin, “This is Mihashi Ren, he’s our ace pitcher.” Mihashi chirped and nodded, his face bright red. Next to him, the catcher gave him a worried look. Eijun stared at the pitcher, curious about his style, how his battery functioned, how many breaking balls he could throw.

 

“This is Abe Takaya, our vice captain and catcher.”

 

Abe nodded, and gently bumped Mihashi with his shoulder. Hanai introduced the rest of the players. Haruichi stiffened at the introduction of Tajima Yuuichirou, and Eijun glanced down to give his friend a questioning look. After Hanai finished, he turned to look at Momoe, who grinned again. She, in turn, stared right at Kataoka, who grunted and turned to Yuki.

 

“I’m Yuki Tetsuya, I’m the first baseman and captain. This is Tanba Koichiro, our ace pitcher. This is Miyuki Kazuya, our catcher.” he introduced, and each player nodded as their name and position were named. When it got to Eijun, at the very end of the line, he greeted Nishiura with a loud, “OSU!”

 

He could hear Kataoka sigh all the way from the other side of the line.

 

As both teams bowed, Eijun noticed Mihashi tugging urgently on Abe’s sleeve, whispering something disjointedly. Abe looked like he was trying very, very hard not to yell, as Mihashi struggled to get his words out. Finally, Tajima interrupted them, and yelled very loudly.

 

“Abe!! He’s saying, _wow, Seidou has a lot of pitchers_!”

 

Abe turned to him and glared, and Tajima just laughed. Seidou startled at the shouting, and startled again as the coach of Nishiura did nothing to reprimand her team, but laughed loudly instead.

 

“They have over 90 members in the club,  Mihashi,” she said, and Mihashi turned bright red again at being singled out, sputtering and blinking rapidly, opening and closing his mouth as he slowly tried to hide behind Abe, who was not having it. He grabbed the pitcher’s arm, and tugged him back into line. Mihashi teared up, but seemed to calm down a bit.

 

“Well, should we get this party started?” Momoe smiled slyly, turning to address Kataoka, who nodded stiffly. Momoe and Kataoka were complete opposites, Eijun noted, as Momoe slung an arm around Mihashi and Hanai, grinning wildly.

 

“This is going to be a joint practice that will end with a game,” Kataoka announced to Seidou, “make sure to work hard.”

 

Momoe was giving a similar pep talk to her team, the only difference was the team was actively cheering with her, rather than listening quietly and then responding with a shout. A man, who Eijun hadn’t noticed earlier, walked up to Momoe, and asked her something. She seemed surprised, and then grinned.

 

“Say, Coach Kataoka,” she said, turning again to face Seidou, “may I borrow your team for, ah, five minutes or so? I’d like to show them something.”

 

Kataoka stared, confused, but gave his consent. Momoe cackled, “ _Wonderful!_ Shiga-sensei, would you mind?”

 

Shiga, the man, Eijun noted, smiled and rubbed his hands together, before gesturing towards Seidou.

 

“Everyone make a circle, please, try to mix it up so you aren’t standing next to a teammate.” he directed, as Kataoka watched curiously. Momoe walked over to stand next to him, and grinned.

 

As soon as the teams were evenly distributed, Shiga instructed everyone to sit down. Mihashi and Abe ended up being separated, and the nervous energy flying off of the pitcher almost rivalled the aura Furuya managed to summon whenever pitching was mentioned. Eijun found himself sandwiched between Mihashi and Tajima, and with a grimace, he noticed that Miyuki Kazuya was in between Mihashi and Abe. The next thing Shiga said startled everyone in Seidou.

 

“Please take the hands of the people sitting next to you,” he said, and without hesitation, the members of Nishiura put their palms face up next to themselves, waiting patiently for the members of Seidou to comply. Eijun found he didn’t have much of a choice, as Tajima immediately grabbed his hand, twining their fingers together and resting their clasped hands on his knee. Next to him, Mihashi nervously reached for his hand, which Eijun took. As soon as everyone was holding hands, Shiga continued.

 

“Close your eyes. You should be able to feel your partner’s hands. They may be warm, or they may be cold.” he said, and Eijun’s eyes drifted closed. He tried to focus on the temperature of Tajima and Mihashi’s hands. Tajima’s were very warm, almost hot, while Mihashi’s were like ice. “Register that temperature in your minds, and breathe with me. In. Out. In. Out.” Slowly, Mihashi’s hands stopped trembling, though the temperature didn’t change. “Slowly, don’t rush, feel your own body temperature as it rises, and then share that warmth with your partner.” Eijun took a deep, even breath, and imagined his warmth flowing into Mihashi’s hands. “Make sure their hand is as warm as yours.”

 

Sure enough, Mihashi’s hands started to warm up.

 

Kataoka stared at the two teams, meditating in a circle, and next to him, Momoe laughed very quietly, almost fondly.

 

“Shiga-sensei came up with that after I showed Abe that holding Mihashi’s hands could help him to see if he was nervous or not.” she explained, “It really does wonders to help a team bond and become one.”

 

Kataoka nodded, and took note. He was doubtful that he would ever actually employ this tactic, but it would be useful to remember.

 

After a few more minutes had passed, Shiga clapped his hands, and the Nishiura boys opened their eyes and released their grasps on everyone’s hands. Seidou quickly followed suit, and they all stood. Mihashi seemed to have calmed down a lot, Eijun noticed, though he still seemed flushed and panicky.

 

“Thank you, Shiga-sensei,” Momoe said, and then nodded to Kataoka, “Your turn!” She laughed.

 

“Pitchers and catchers, come see me, everyone else, do three laps around the field, and then meet me for further instruction. Yuki, you lead.” Kataoka announced, and Seidou shouted their understanding. Abe almost had to drag Mihashi over to Kataoka, who was talking to a third year, who had appeared almost out of thin air. Eijun grinned, excited that he would probably get to pitch. Furuya, next to him, seemed to have the same idea. Miyuki laughed, as the people who had to run started, Yuki’s shouts being drowned out by the collective answering yells of Seidou and Nishiura.

 

“Coach Momoe, do you mind if we switch up the batteries?” Kataoka asked, and Mihashi chirped, grabbing onto the back of Abe’s jersey in fear. Momoe patted Mihashi hard on the back, “I don’t mind at all!”

 

Eijun groaned, but his expression took a complete 180 as he noticed Chris was standing with the catchers.

 

“Chris-senpai!” he shouted, and Chris looked up from his notebook, smiled, and then went back to work, scribbling away. Eijun grinned, and then turned back to the Nishiura battery.

 

“A-abe-kun! I! Pitching... you?” Mihashi stuttered, drawing in the air with his hands and Abe nodded, looking slightly confused.

 

“Mihashi... you have to use _words_ or I can’t understand...” Abe said, with the patience of someone who had to go through this about a thousand times a day. Mihashi swallowed and nodded so hard his face became a blur.

 

“He means _you’re going to catch for other pitchers_!” Tajima shouted, and Abe turned to look at the short boy, who was still running.

 

“How did you even- Nevermind!” Abe began, but changed his mind, turning back to Mihashi, who nodded.

 

“Yes, and _you’re_ going to pitch for other catchers.” Abe said, and Mihashi looked like he wanted to scream. As Mihashi began to speak again, a sharp tap on Eijun’s shoulder called his attention back to Seidou’s catchers, who were done speaking. Miyuki grinned, and cleared his throat, interrupting Mihashi and Abe, who were having a weird sort of conversation. Mihashi squeaked, and turned to face them, standing stock still, while Abe turned more fluidly.

 

“Let’s go to the bullpen.” Chris said, and began to lead the way. Mihashi grabbed tightly onto Abe’s sleeve, and continued to chirp and stutter. Eijun fell back a little, to try and join their conversation.

 

“Hi!” he said, smiling warmly at Mihashi, who squealed. Abe groaned in frustration, and shook Mihashi off of his arm, power walking to reach the catchers, abandoning Mihashi next to Eijun.

 

“H-hello!” Mihashi said, looking firmly at the dirt. Eijun whistled.

 

“That’s some catcher you’ve got,” he said, “he seems kind of mean?”

 

Mihashi’s head snapped towards him, the intensity in his eyes surprising.

 

“A-abe-kun isn’t mean!” Mihashi protested, and kept walking, “He’s very kind!”

 

Eijun smiled, and hopped to catch up, “So, you’re the only pitcher on the whole Nishiura team! That’s so cool!”

 

Mihashi squawked at the praise, going bright red, and nodding furiously, “I-I’m not... good! But! Abe-kun helps!”

 

Eijun nodded sagely, and then gave Mihashi a friendly pat on the back.

 

“I have pretty bad control, but Chris-senpai has been helping me get better!” Eijun grinned, and then grimaced, “That Miyuki Kazuya hasn’t been helpful at all! He just makes fun of me.”

 

Mihashi gave Eijun a sort of look that let on he knew exactly how that felt, and then stumbled over his own feet, squawking and waving his arms to regain his balance.

 

“Your pitcher seems to be quite the handful,” Miyuki said to Abe, who had fallen into stride next to him. Abe shrugged.

 

“He’s one of the best pitchers I’ve ever caught for,” Abe said, turning to look at Mihashi, who was talking animatedly with Eijun.

 

“Hey, really?” Miyuki said, taking the opportunity to needle Abe for information about Nishiura’s only battery, “Him? He doesn’t seem like he has very good control.”

 

Abe laughed, “You’d be surprised.”

 

Miyuki smirked, and analyzed the first year catcher. He was solid, and clearly had experience with terrible pitchers from the way he talked, and also...

 

“How do you even understand what he says?” Miyuki asked, genuinely curious. Even _Eijun_ , with his own weird language of hollers and grunts, was having a hard time comprehending what the nervous pitcher was saying.

 

Abe looked at him blankly, and then appeared to not know how to answer.

 

“It’s not really that difficult,” Abe said, “He usually manages to get the essential parts of a sentence out.”

 

Miyuki nodded, and then grinned again, his curiosity only growing. This could get ugly, if he didn’t word his questions correctly.

 

“Why’s he keep hanging on to you?”

 

Abe stiffened, but didn’t snap at the other catcher, taking a deep breath before replying.

 

“Mihashi didn’t have a great middle school baseball experience. He’s convinced the only reason he’s doing good in high school is because I’m his catcher,” Abe explained, “Also... actually, it’s a long story.”

 

“I’ve got time,” Miyuki needled, and Abe’s eyebrows furrowed.

 

“I’d rather not think about it,” Abe avoided, and Miyuki shrugged, giving up.

 

As they reached the bullpen, Chris allowed the Seidou pitchers to warm up with Seidou catchers, and began to put on his own catcher’s gear. Tanba was forced to sit out, and observe, due to his injury. Eijun bounced on the balls of his feet, excitedly, as Chris spoke with Abe for a moment, before squatting and punching his glove, holding it up for Eijun to pitch into. After around 15 pitches from each pitcher, Chris stood again, and cleared his throat.

 

“Coach Kataoka asked me to have each of you pitch to Abe, and to have all of you to catch for Mihashi, because Nishiura only has one pitcher and catcher.” he explained, Abe nodding, and pushing up out of his crouch.

 

“Let’s do this,” Abe said, ignoring Mihashi’s panicked squawks.

 

Kawakami ended up being the first pitcher Abe caught for. They had a simple conversation, Abe asking Kawakami what he threw, and a few other simple questions, what his best pitch was, what he was most uncomfortable with.

 

Mihashi stood uncomfortably in front of Miyayuchi, responding as best he could to each of Miyayuchi’s questions. He threw eventually, and Miyayuchi snorted in surprise. Miyuki glanced to the left, curious about what all the snorting was about. He was quickly brought back to the pitcher in front of him, as Furuya wound up to throw another thunderous pitch.

 

Abe said something about each pitch Kawakami threw, “Nice ball,” echoed in the bullpen after each thud. Mihashi, on the other end of the bullpen, seemed to grow uncomfortable with each snort Miyayuchi gave. After 20 pitches, Chris called for a change in pitcher again, and they switched. The nervous ginger ended up in front of Miyuki, looking utterly terrified.

 

“Say, what do you throw?” Miyuki asked, and Mihashi jumped, before speaking, listing all four of his breaking balls, along with his normal pitch.

 

“Hoho, you hear that Bakamura?” Miyuki crowed, startling Eijun, who was currently explaining to Abe that he could only throw fastballs. Eijun glared at Miyuki, and was about to bark something back, but Abe caught his attention, and put up his glove for Eijun to throw. Eijun grinned, as Abe signaled for a fastball, high, on the inside corner. He wound up, clenching his right hand and making sure his foot pointed straight to the catcher, and threw, paying attention to when he released the ball. Abe caught it like it was no problem, but grimaced as he stood up to toss the ball back.

 

“Your control is awful.” he said, deadpan. Eijun choked, as he heard both Miyuki and Chris chuckle at the catcher’s words.

 

“Alrighty, Nishiura’s Ace, your turn.” Miyuki grinned, holding up his glove, and signaling for a fastball right down the center. Mihashi nodded, and threw. The ball seemed to float through the air. It landed squarely in the center of Miyuki’s mitt with a puff of dust. Miyuki stared at the first year pitcher with surprise.

 

“Nice pitch,” he shouted, and threw the ball back, signaling for one of Mihashi’s breaking balls, on the top inside corner. Again, the ball landed perfectly in Miyuki’s mitt, without him having to make any effort to move his hand. Miyuki grinned, laughing out loud, startling Mihashi and causing the poor boy to cover his face with his glove, his ears burning.

 

“You’re a lucky one, Abe,” Miyuki cackled, shaking his head. Mihashi peered curiously over the top of his glove, and Abe smiled, nodding.

 

“I know,” he said, and then his frown returned as Eijun tried to throw a low outside pitch, and failed.

 

“I commend your effort,” Abe said, throwing the ball back to Eijun, who flinched again. The 20 pitch limit came too soon, and Chris called for the pitcher change.

 

“Oi, Chris, is it really okay for Abe to catch for Furuya?” Miyuki asked, as the first year walked up to Abe’s lane. Chris nodded, “Coach Kataoka said every pitcher would pitch for Abe. If Abe can’t handle it, I’ll intervene.”

 

Abe snorted from where he crouched and punched his glove, “I can take anything,” he challenged, and Miyuki smiled.

 

“We’ll see.”

 

All eyes were on Abe as Furuya wound up, and threw with all his might. The ball made a sound like a bullet as it came to rest in Abe’s mitt, a cloud of dust flying off of the ball. Abe shrugged, and stood to throw it back to Furuya.

 

“Your control is almost worse than Sawamura-kun’s.” Abe remarked flatly, and Miyuki howled with laughter, wrenching his attention back to Kawakami almost reluctantly.

 

Mihashi stared at Abe almost reverently, Chris noted, as he caught another one of Furuya’s pitches like it was nothing. Chris cleared his throat, and Mihashi nearly jumped out of his spikes.

 

“Just give me your best pitch,” Chris said, smiling. Mihashi nodded furiously, and Chris almost worried the boy was going to give himself a concussion. Mihashi seemed to be debating what to throw, before looking at Abe, and nodding gently to himself. He glanced at the mitt Chris held in the middle of the strike zone, and threw a simple fastball. Chris was startled by how slow it was, and the lack of rotation as it sailed through the air. He was even more surprised when he didn’t have to move his mitt a millimeter to catch it. He whistled, and stood, throwing the ball back to Mihashi.

 

“That was excellent.” he said, and Mihashi turned bright red again, a wobbly smile working it’s way onto the first year’s face. Every pitch fell perfectly into Chris’s mitt, no matter the break of the ball, or where he placed the mitt in or out of the strike zone. Finally, with the 20th pitch, Chris stood, and called attention to himself.

 

“Now that all the pitchers and catchers have mixed, we should work on improvement. Abe, if you don’t mind, I’d like to watch Mihashi pitch to you a little closer.” Chris said, turning to the first year catcher, who looked at Mihashi, before agreeing. Mihashi stared nervously between Chris and Abe, before blinking several times and shaking his head.

 

Abe had Mihashi throw a fastball down the middle, and Chris held up his hand to stop Abe from throwing the ball back.

 

“Mihashi, do that again, but rotate your hips before your shoulders,” Chris said, taking note the steely look from Abe. Mihashi chirped anxiously, turning to stare at Abe, who shrugged.

 

“You might as well,” Abe said, hoping that the instruction from the more experienced catcher wouldn’t affect Mihashi’s control. If it did, he knew Mihashi would likely never try that again, so he didn’t worry too much. Mihashi nodded, surprised, and Abe tossed the ball back.

 

This time, Mihashi’s pitch seemed to move faster, thought it retained the same lazy course. As the ball came to rest in Abe’s mitt with a smack, Mihashi danced excitedly from foot to foot.

 

“Abe-kun!!” Mihashi said, a wide grin on his face, “The! It - ball...!”

 

Eijun marveled at the level of communication between the battery. Even with Mihashi mostly making excited sounding squawks, Abe still seemed to be understanding what he was saying.

 

“That was perfect, Mihashi!” Abe called, throwing the ball back. Mihashi nodded, his face flushed again at the praise. Chris hummed, thinking, and then cleared his throat.

 

“Mihashi, can you do a proper windup?” Chris asked, again taking note of Abe’s glare. Mihashi slowly shook his head, and then gestured to Abe to explain.

 

“Everything Mihashi does was self taught,” Abe said, “none of his coaches bothered to show him how to pitch properly.” Mihashi nodded.

 

“I can show him!” Eijun volunteered loudly, thrusting his gloved hand in the air, startling everyone. Miyuki burst into mocking laughter, already standing from his crouch, and actually dropped the ball from the force of his laughing.

 

“You can’t even do it properly, Sawamura!” he wheezed, slapping his thigh repeatedly, doubled over. Eijun glared at him, shouting wordlessly in offense.

 

“Sawamura certainly has a unique way of winding up, but since Mihashi has no experience, maybe Sawamura’s odd style may be helpful?” Chris offered, causing Eijun to grin goofily at him, and yell, “Chris-senpai!”

 

Mihashi gave Abe another nervous glance. Abe shook his head, and nodded towards Eijun and Chris. Mihashi whined, his face turning bright red again.

 

“I! That... nice?” he forced out, and then nodded furiously.

 

“Words, Mihashi,” Abe reminded, and Mihashi squeaked.

 

“Windup! Yes!” he tried again, and Eijun grinned. Abe stood from his crouch, and walked towards where Miyuki and Chris now stood, an odd look on his face.

 

“How much will this windup mess with his control?” Abe asked, quietly enough that Mihashi, who was chirping happily, couldn’t hear him. Chris touched his chin, deep in thought, and then replied with a shrug.

 

“We have no way of knowing until he pitches using the windup. Either nothing will change, or his control will be ruined temporarily, until he gets the hang of it.” Chris explained, which clearly wasn’t good enough for the first year catcher, who stared worriedly at his pitcher, who was now balancing on one leg as Eijun showed him how he wound up.

 

“Say,” Abe said suddenly, “do you have any advice for dealing with a delicate pitcher?”

 

Miyuki threw his hands up in a don’t-ask-me fashion, and turned to Chris, who looked equally baffled.

 

“You seem to be doing a good job of it on your own?” he tried, and Abe shrugged.

 

“I guess,” his expression softened, and a hint of red cropped up on his cheeks, as he looked back to his pitcher, “He doesn’t believe me when I tell him he’s incredible.”

 

Miyuki’s eyebrows shot up, and then he grinned, turning to give Chris a knowing look. Chris squinted at him, as if he were saying ‘don’t you dare,’ and for once, Miyuki didn’t say anything. Though he wanted to. Badly.

 

“Well, your turn,” Abe said, looking away, “what’s the drama in your bullpen?”

 

Miyuki laughed, and gestured towards Eijun and Furuya, who were now arguing over who had a better windup, while Mihashi was looking around for an escape route.

 

“Those two idiots are both convinced they’re going to be the ace,” Miyuki said, “which isn’t bad for motivation, but they won’t shut up about it.”

 

“I have the opposite problem,” Abe snorted, “Maybe Mihashi could learn something from them.”

 

“You gotta put your arms up like this,” Eijun instructed, ignoring the way Mihashi’s eyes kept flickering from him, to Abe, to the door.

 

“Like this,” Furuya echoed, holding his arms a different way, stepping in front of Eijun.

 

Mihashi looked between them both, his eyes wide, and then burst into overwhelmed tears.

 

“Shit! No, dude, don’t cry!” Eijun panicked, waving his arms and looking helplessly towards the catchers. Furuya, equally startled, stood still, unsure of what exactly to do.

 

Abe heaved a sigh, and dragged his free hand down his face. Chris and Miyuki shared another look, surprised to find this was a common occurrence. When Abe had said a delicate pitcher, they didn’t quite expect this. Mihashi scrubbed at his face, and Abe walked over to where he stood, shaking like a leaf.

 

“Why are you crying.” Abe said, coming to a stop and crossing his arms in front of Mihashi. He stood solidly, with his feet planted wide, and his shoulders squared. Mihashi chirped, jumping in surprise.

 

“I-I’m n-!” Mihashi protested, tears still rolling down his flushed cheeks. Abe’s eyebrow twitched.

 

“You’re crying right now.” he pointed out, and Mihashi shook his head, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. Another tear fell. Abe ground his teeth, attempting to be patient.

 

“If you don’t say what’s wrong, no one can fix it,” Abe tried, his tone ruining the effect of the words. Mihashi squeaked, and ran to hide behind Eijun, who startled as Abe turned immediately, arms still crossed, and a frustrated look on his face. Eijun looked at Miyuki and Chris for help, who were watching curiously. Eijun mouthed, “help,” at Miyuki, who shrugged, grinning, holding up his hands.

 

“ _Mihashi_.” Abe said, louder than intended, as Mihashi squeaked again, trying to make himself invisible behind Eijun, who was frozen in fear. The aura flowing off of Abe was seriously scary, he could completely understand why Mihashi wanted to hide. But why did it have to be behind him?

 

“Hey now,” Chris stepped, in, holding his hands up as both Abe and Mihashi’s heads snapped towards him. Chris almost wilted under the strength of the first year catcher’s glare, but continued, “Both of you need to calm down.”

 

“I-I’m...calm!” “I’M PERFECTLY CALM.”

 

Miyuki snorted with laughter as Chris grimaced, and Eijun jumped almost clear out of his spikes. Furuya had melted into the background, to avoid Abe’s wrath. Kawakami and Miyayuchi were both missing too, along with Tanba, wherever they had wandered off to.

 

“Be that as it may,” Chris said, “I think you need to take a few deep breaths.”

 

Abe huffed, and blew him off, turning back to Mihashi, who was breathing in and out very deeply and very rapidly.

 

“ _Oi!_ Idiot, you’re gonna pass out!” Abe shouted, his anger immediately turning to concern, and Mihashi held his breath. Abe slammed his face into his mitt.

 

“Listen,” Abe said, finally, and Mihashi let his breath out with an audible whoosh, “do you have any idea how to do a windup now?”

 

Mihashi nodded slowly, like he was thinking it through, and then nodded again, faster. Abe rubbed his face.

 

“Do you want to throw a pitch with a windup?”

 

Mihashi nodded again, a determined look on his face. Abe sighed, and looked around the bullpen.

 

“Do you have any chalk, and a net?” he asked, turning back to face Chris and Miyuki.

 

"Maybe, what for?" Miyuki asked, purposefully being unhelpful. Abe frowned, obviously annoyed.

 

"Actually, Miyuki-san, could you catch for Mihashi? I want to watch him as he pitches with a windup." Abe said, raising an eyebrow expectantly. Miyuki began to refuse, but then stopped. Abe had reasoning, if Mihashi's pitches went wild, Miyuki would be the most likely to catch it. And besides that, Mihashi pitching to a real person rather than a wooden plank with lines drawn on it led to more accurate results.

 

"Chris-san," Abe turned to the older catcher, "will you please help me observe Mihashi's pitch?"

 

Chris nodded, surprised at how polite the first year was suddenly being. Abe smiled, for the first time that day, Chris noted, and then bowed slightly at both of his upperclassmen.

 

"Thank you," he said, and then turned to Mihashi, waving him forward.

 

"Throw whatever Miyuki-san calls for, but do it with your windup. Chris-san and I will watch and correct your form." Abe said quietly, watching Mihashi's expression carefully. Mihashi nodded enthusiastically, and then spoke, “I think...after! Abe-kun? You should! Catch.”

 

Abe grinned at Mihashi, and grabbed his head with both hands, ruffling his hair aggressively. Mihashi squawked in fear, before realizing that Abe wasn’t angry, a wobbly smile working its way onto his face. Abe let go, and fist pumped internally, extremely satisfied with the success of their communication.

 

“Alright,” Miyuki’s voice cut Mihashi and Abe’s moment short, the pitcher and catcher turning to face the older boy, who had crouched at the opposite end of the bullpen, ready to catch.

 

Abe took a few steps back, until he was standing next to Chris again, and Mihashi rolled the ball in his hand a few times, before beginning his windup. Eijun fell into line next to Abe, watching curiously as the pitcher nervously raised his hands above his head, his left knee rising higher than usual as he picked his leg up, and threw it forwards, glancing at the group watching him, before proceeding to pitch. The ball went in its expected course, with Miyuki just barely having to move his mitt to catch it. As soon as the ball made contact, Mihashi turned to look at Abe excitedly.

 

“That was awesome!” Eijun shouted, startling Mihashi, who jumped, staring at Eijun with wide eyes. Abe smirked, and nodded his agreement, which had Mihashi blushing red. Miyuki snorted quietly, it seemed that all the boys on the Nishiura team made a habit of excessive blushing.

 

“T-th-thank you!” Mihashi stuttered, his excitement evident as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

 

“How did that feel? It was a little different from your usual pitch.” Abe asked, and Mihashi stopped bouncing, thinking hard.

 

“Fast!” he said, and then looked at Miyuki for confirmation.

 

“It was faster than the last pitches you threw,” Miyuki said, “the control is about the same, but if you want to pitch with more speed, then you’ll need to work on transferring the momentum from your windup into the ball, and you might want to consider working with weights, and maybe even a heavier ball to strengthen your arm.”

 

Mihashi’s head swam at all the advice Miyuki was giving, and he stared at Abe, who seemed to understand.

 

“Momokan had him do a drill where he stood on a wooden block and pitched normally from that.” Abe said, looking at Chris.

 

“To strengthen his trunk, I assume,” Chris said, and then took a notebook out of his back pocket, flipping through it, “a strong abdomen definitely helps with pitching. What kind of workout do you usually do?”

 

Abe and Mihashi shared a look, and Abe replied.

 

“Momokan just has us do running and fielding for exercise. We also play games like jungle gym freeze tag. Tajima and Hanai practice with weighted bats outside of that, and Mihashi pitches with his strike board,” he explained, and then turned a look on Mihashi, “Against Momokan’s orders, but he’s been getting stronger, so she hasn’t stopped him. And he won’t listen to me.”

 

Mihashi pretended like he didn’t hear that last part, and nodded.

 

Chris stared at them incredulously, and then shook his head, an unbelieving smile forcing itself onto his face.

 

“You don’t do any weight training outside of practice?”

 

“S-should?” Mihashi asked, looking guilty. Chris nodded.

 

“It would definitely give you an advantage.”

 

Abe hummed, and then scratched the side of his head, “I’ll ask Momokan if she can give us a menu.”

 

Abe instructed Mihashi to try pitching to Miyuki a few more times, to get the feel of his new form down, before trading places with Miyuki to catch for Mihashi for a few pitches.

 

As they walked out of the bullpen, towards the field, Miyayuchi, Furuya, Kawakami, and Tanba rejoined them. Chris and Miyuki made conversation, asking them where exactly they went, while Mihashi and Eijun chattered aimlessly, Abe walking closely next to Mihashi so that their shoulders bumped every other step. As they grew closer to where everyone else was practicing fielding, the third years split off, and headed over to find Kataoka. Abe called for Mihashi to follow him as he walked towards Momoe, who was currently hitting balls for the players on the field to catch and make plays with. Eijun and Furuya followed close behind, unsure of what else to do. Miyuki laughed at the view before him on the field, and then leisurely walked towards them.

 

“Momokan!” Mihashi chirped, excited to show off his new improved form. Momoe turned her head, and grinned at her ace and his catcher.

 

“Mihashi! Abe! You two ready to jump in?” she asked, and Mihashi nodded quickly, his hat flying off of his head in the light breeze. Momoe laughed as Mihashi turned in a circle, looking for where it fell. Snorting, Abe leaned down and picked it up, placing it back onto Mihashi’s head, who made one of his signature surprised noises. Momoe handed Mihashi the ball she was currently tossing up and down, and smiled at him.

 

“Make sure they’re all pitches I can hit,” she grinned, and Mihashi nodded, looking at Abe to make sure he heard.

 

“Mihashi’s pitch has gained a little speed, thanks to those two Seidou catchers,” Abe said proudly, as Mihashi ran awkwardly to the mound, crouching and punching his glove, signing for a fastball right down the middle, and holding out his glove. Mihashi raised his arms, and then his leg, and swung it forwards, trying his best to transfer the momentum, as Miyuki had advised, and then threw his arm down, the pitch flying directly towards Abe’s mitt. Momoe laughed in pleased surprise as she saw the improvement of Mihashi’s form, and swung, hitting the ball straight to the shortstop, who Abe quickly realized was not Suyama. The shortstop, Kuramochi, leapt into the air, catching the ball, and threw the ball straight to second base, where Sakaeguchi caught the ball, stepping on base to get the out, all before hitting the ground. The runner, a member of the Seidou team, returned to first base for the next play. Mihashi seemed to notice that not all of the players on the field were his teammates, and froze, nervously staring from Tajima to Kuramochi, and then back to Abe.

 

“Nice play!” Momoe laughed, as Sakaeguchi threw the ball back to Mihashi.

 

“Where’s Suyama?” Abe asked, curiosity getting the best of him as he signed for the same pitch, but this time inside and in the upper corner.

 

“He’ll be in again soon enough.” Momoe answered, slamming the ball somewhere between center and right field, “He’s the runner on third, right now.”

 

Abe looked over, and sure enough, there Suyama was, edging slowly but surely towards home plate. He wasn’t far enough away from third base that Mihashi could reasonably try to pick him off, but as he signaled for Mihashi to send him a curveball, low and in the outer edge of the strike zone, he realized what Momoe was playing for.

 

Her bat came down to bunt, and as soon as he heard the clink of the ball, he prepared to run forwards to grab the ball if it fell close enough. Mihashi beat him to it, for once, and held the ball, looking around in confusion.

 

“Back home!” Abe yelled, and Mihashi turned, seeing that Suyama was making a break for home, and threw. Abe caught it, and smiled at Suyama, who cursed under his breath, slowing down, and then grinned.

 

“I’m glad we’re on the same team,” Suyama laughed, and Abe smiled, nodding.

 

“Alright,” Momoe said, turning her head away from Mihashi to face the Seidou players, who were now standing behind her, “Sawamura-kun, do you play anywhere else besides pitcher?”

 

“No!” Eijun answered immediately, and Momoe laughed heartily.

 

“What about you, Furuya-kun?”

 

“Left field.” he said, and opened his mouth to continue, before being interrupted by Eijun, “He’s kinda awful at catching the ball, though!” Furuya ignored him, and Eijun huffed.

 

“Ok, Furuya-kun, would you go switch with Mizutani?” Momoe asked, “Tell him to switch with Suyama.”

 

Furuya nodded, and jogged out to Mizutani, who insisted on giving him a high five before switching.

 

“Miyuki-kun, after Mihashi pitches four more balls, I want you and Sawamura-kun to switch with Abe and Mihashi.” Momoe grinned, and Abe turned to look up at her, confused. The way she was looking at Eijun, though, told him all he needed to know.

 

“Ok, Abe, thanks for waiting.” she said, and pointed her bat at the boys on the field, “You’d all better be ready!”

 

The next four balls were all to difficult positions, between bases, just far enough that the outfielders had to run for it, just close enough that they weren’t completely sure if it was for them or the infielders. As soon as the last ball was returned to Mihashi, Abe stood up, and waved Mihashi off the field. Reluctantly, he complied, setting the ball down gently on the mound, and jogging awkwardly to where Abe had moved away from the batter’s box, as Eijun and Miyuki took the field.

 

“Give me something to hit,” Momoe requested, swinging her bat a few times to get the feel back, Miyuki replying with a, “ _Yes, yes._ ”

 

Miyuki signed for a regular old strike down the middle, and Eijun delivered. Momoe watched the pitch carefully, and let it pass, laughing as she noticed what made it special.

 

“Nice ball,” Miyuki said, throwing the ball back to Eijun, who grinned. Momoe tightened her grip on the bat, and waited for the next pitch.

 

As it came within the strike zone, Momoe’s bat connected with a crack, and the ball flew to left field, where Furuya was. He put up his glove, and it almost seemed like he would catch the pop fly, but the ball just barely missed. Furuya seemed surprised, and turned to pick up the ball, throwing it to first base on reflex.

 

Miyuki called for the same ball, this time high and inside, and to his surprise, Momoe hit it, no problem. The ball still flew exactly where she wanted it, Hanai being forced to dive to catch it, immediately throwing it to third base, trapping Mizutani between third base and home plate, where Miyuki waited, ready to catch the ball if Mizutani ran for it. Which he did, and Miyuki raised his mitt, but again, to his surprise, the third baseman, Tajima, ran after Mizutani, who squealed in fright, and tapped him with his glove, getting him out.  
  


Tajima laughed, and then threw the ball back to Eijun. Miyuki shook his head. Nishiura was certainly full of surprises. Similar events occurred with the next few pitches, Nishiura members pulling odd but effective plays, and Momoe hitting every pitch Eijun threw with ease.

  
Momoe cackled, and straightened up as she saw Kataoka walking towards the pitch, and turned to call all the boys in off the field.


	2. The Game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry this chapte r is so shitty and the ending is such a copout but its 3:18 am and im?????????? i have no idea how to end this properly. implied miyusawa. i might go and add the tag later but. its too early now. 
> 
> please leave a kudos and comment if you enjoyed this! if you like kurasawa, i've written two oneshots, and i'll take any prompts or requests i can get and try to turn those into more, so if you wanna see some more kurasawa, hmu! i might not write Everything because school is coming up, but i need to get back into the swing of writing often!
> 
> u can find me on twitter at @mlnhul !!!

“Hanai, would you like to flip the coin to decide who will field first?” Momoe asked, ignoring the groans of dread from her team. Knowing Hanai’s luck, they would be fielding first, which meant them scoring a run to ease Mihashi’s nerves would be impossible. Hanai gulped, but complied.

 

“Looks like Nishiura will field first.” Momoe announced, nodding at Kataoka, and then turning to her team, “Alright, Abe, I’m leaving this to you for now.”

 

Abe nodded, glancing at Mihashi, who looked like the world was about to end. Seidou raced to their dugout, Eijun wondering who was going to start the next inning. Kataoka didn’t make any plans, instructing Seidou that they would simply play the game by ear. Though unusual for a practice game against an unfamiliar team, it appeared that Nishiura’s coach had the same idea.

 

Abe had Mihashi throw just enough pitches to make sure he wasn’t too terribly nervous, and then signaled to the umpire, who motioned for Seidou’s first batter to step on the field. An unfamiliar voice announced the batter’s name and number, and Abe glanced up at the second year’s face, and then back to Mihashi, who was taking several deep breaths in an effort to calm down. Abe felt the corners of his mouth quirk up as Mihashi sent him a quick, vigorous nod, and then nodded again at Abe’s signal for a low inside cutter. He stared nervously between Kuramochi and Abe, and then threw the ball. Kuramochi let it pass, his eyes watching it carefully all the way to Abe’s mitt.

 

Abe ignored the commotion in the Seidou dugout, and signaled to Mihashi for the same pitch, but a little higher and more towards the center. Mihashi nodded, and threw. Kuramochi swung hard, and Abe almost thought he was going to make contact, but Mihashi’s pitch just barely made it to Abe’s mitt in time.

 

“Nice pitch!” Abe yelled, throwing the ball back to Mihashi, who had a goofy grin on his face. Abe wanted to laugh and grin back, but they still had a batter in the box, who laughed like a hyena, and shortened his grip on the bat. Abe squinted at him, and then signed for a perfect strike. He figured even if the batter hit, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal, and the ball would probably foul anyways. To his surprise, as the pitch neared the strike zone, Kuramochi laughed again, and swung as hard as he could, connecting with a crack, and sending the ball past Mihashi and Sakaeguchi.

 

Abe stood up and pointed to first base as Hanai ran forwards to grab the ball. As he scooped the ball into his glove and prepared to throw it to Oki’s waiting glove, he was shocked to find Kuramochi had already made it to first base. Hanai settled for throwing the ball back to Mihashi, who was acting like he’d been struck by a bolt of lightning. Abe frowned, hoping that Mihashi hadn’t taken the hit too hard.

 

The next batter, shorter than Tajima, Abe noted with surprise, stepped up to the plate.

 

We shouldn’t do the typical low and away, Abe thought, signing for a high inside pitch, a plain fastball. Mihashi nodded nervously, and pitched, the batter, Ryosuke, smirking into his swing. The ball fouled, and Mihashi shivered, thankful it hadn’t been a true hit. Abe looked up at Ryosuke, and realized that he was probably going to aim for everything Mihashi pitched. Low inside, curveball, Abe signed, and Mihashi hesitated before nodding. Abe frowned. Mihashi clearly wanted to shake the pitch off, but didn’t. He’d have to let him know it’s ok more convincingly, somehow.

 

The pitch fouled again, just outside the left baseline. Four pitches in, and Mihashi finally shook Abe off, nervously, and Abe signed for a perfect strike with a cutter. Mihashi nodded, satisfied, and threw. Ryosuke swung, and made contact with a thwack.

 

Abe’s lips twitched at the corners as he saw the trajectory of the hit. The ball flew straight past Mihashi’s head, and into Sakaeguchi’s glove. Sakaeguchi rushed back to second base, just in time to get Kuramochi out. Ryosuke cursed, and walked back to the dugout, Kuramochi on his heels.

 

“Two outs!” Abe shouted, and Mihashi echoed him excitedly, turning around to the outfield and holding up two fingers.

 

“Whoa! Onii-san!” Eijun yelled, horrified, as Ryosuke stepped into the dugout, and turned an evil look on the first year.

 

“What was that?” Ryosuke asked, and Haruichi hurriedly slammed a hand over Eijun’s mouth to keep him from talking, afraid for his friend’s safety.

 

Jun stepped up to the plate, and roared loudly, startling Mihashi enough that the first year nearly jumped out of his shoes. Tajima’s delighted laughter echoed, causing Mihashi to jump again, whipping around to face the freckled boy, and Abe shouted, “Eyes on me, Mihashi.”

 

Mihashi turned rapidly again, staring at Abe. Abe sighed, and signaled for a good, calming pitch.

 

Mihashi nodded, and wound up, deliberate. He threw the ball with a little more force than before, and it curved just before the plate, straight into Jun’s bat.

 

The ball flew like a bullet out into the outfield, and bounced between Hanai and the fence. Jun roared again, triumphantly, as he came to a stop at second base. Mihashi nervously glanced at Abe, as the fourth batter and captain of Seidou stepped up to the batter’s box.

 

Abe frowned, his calls were limited. Yuki had probably already noticed Mihashi’s quirk, he realized, as the third year took his place in the batter’s box, near the front and close to the plate. He had his grip on the bat normal, but held it in a way that would make it easy to adapt to what he needed to score a hit. He was obviously capable of hitting any of Mihashi’s pitches and turning it into a home run, effortlessly.

 

Abe settled for a difficult pitch, and Mihashi complied, completely trusting Abe. Yuki hit, and the ball flew, just as Abe knew it would. It cleared the fence, and was gone. Two runs, two outs, and the third cleanup batter walked towards the plate. Abe clicked his tongue, and turned to the umpire.

 

“Time out, please.” he requested, and jogged lightly up to where Mihashi was staring nervously at the ground.

 

“We only need one more out,” Abe said, “and then we take those runs back.”

 

Mihashi avoided his eyes, and Abe sighed, before raising his ungloved hand, palm open. He made a soft noise, and Mihashi looked up, immediately placing his hand on Abe’s. It was ice cold, which was unsurprising. The rate at which his hand warmed up, though, was.

 

“That was fast,” Abe said to himself, and Mihashi squawked, embarrassed, and moved to withdraw his hand, but decided against it. Mihashi gave Abe a tiny smile, and waited for the catcher to remove his hand. Abe raised his mitt to his face, and whispered, “Let’s go for the out, I’ll catch whatever you throw.”

 

Mihashi stared at him, and covered his own mouth, “A-Abe-k-kun!? I... don’t? Can’t?”

 

“Mihashi, this is a practice game.” Abe reminded, “I want you to practice your best pitches.”

 

Mihashi whined, reluctant, and Abe knew why, understood Mihashi’s experiences with pitching on his own, but stayed firm.

 

“I know,” Abe murmured, and Mihashi stared at him, “but I don’t know how your pitches feel to you, and I think I can understand if you make the calls. I trust you.”

 

Abe knew how ridiculous everything he said was, but Mihashi’s growth as a pitcher possibly depended on this moment. The startled look on Mihashi’s face was telling enough.

 

“Shake your head if you need me to call a pitch,” Abe settled, and left Mihashi to the mound.

 

This was a bit out of the norm for him. Actually, he never told Mihashi to pitch whatever he wanted before. He wouldn’t of, if he hadn’t seen the cheerful look on Mihashi’s face when Chris had asked him to pitch his best pitch. Anyways, this would be a good way to help Mihashi get over his fear of upsetting Abe by shaking off a pitch he didn’t want to throw. Or something.

 

Settling back into his crouch, the umpire called for the pitch. Mihashi made careful eye contact with Abe, and threw. Abe watched the trajectory of the pitch, and fought back a grin at the aggressive location Mihashi had chosen. Masuko connected with a crack, and the ball popped into the air, flying almost straight up. Abe suppressed his glee, as he stood, raising his mitt to catch the ball, securing the third out.

 

In the Seidou dugout, things were slightly uneasy. Though they had scored two runs, the fact that the Nishiura battery managed to give them some trouble was, not exactly shocking, but close to it. The pitchers all turned to Kataoka, unsure of who was going in when.

 

“Furuya, you’re starting.” Kataoka announced, causing a happy aura to fly off of Furuya while Eijun growled, protesting as Furuya walked towards the mound, a slight bounce in his step.

 

“Make sure your shoulder stays warm,” Miyuki cackled, elbowing Eijun as he passed.

 

In the Nishiura dugout, Tajima could barely contain himself.

 

“Momokan! Please!” he whined, and Momoe laughed, placing a hand on his shoulder.

 

“If you don’t bat cleanup, who will?” she teased, Tajima barely missing a beat, “Hanai!”

 

Hanai perked up from where he sat near the entrance to the dugout, nodding enthusiastically. Momoe relented, and smiled.

 

“Make us proud, Tajima,” she laughed, and Tajima shouted excitedly, running out onto the field to wait by the batter’s box. Momoe quickly switched the batting lineup, and sent Shinooka off to deliver the edited version to the announcer.

 

“Play ball!” the umpire shouted, after the announcer had read Tajima’s name and number off of the sheet. Tajima grinned, and readied himself, carefully watching Furuya wind up, and throw. The ball shot past him like a bullet, and as Miyuki threw it back he laughed, excited to test his power against the formidable first year’s pitches.

 

The next pitch was a ball, and Tajima refrained from swinging, reluctantly. He knew he could’ve gotten a hit off of it, but he’d rather hit a strike than a ball in general, especially against a new pitcher. As the third pitch flew towards him, he grinned, and swung with all the power he could muster. The ball connected with his bat and flew towards center field with a crack, almost making it to the fence, before falling and bouncing on the grass. By the time the ball made it to first base, Tajima was safe. The Nishiura dugout whooped as Tajima threw his arms into the air proudly, and on the mound, Furuya stared at him in shock.

 

The next two batters struck out, and Furuya regained his pace. One out, and they would switch.

 

Hanai stepped up to the plate, Tajima hollering encouragement as he tipped his helmet to the umpire, and readied his grip on the bat.

 

“Hit a home run, Hanai!” Tajima yelled, as Hanai let the first pitch pass, getting an eye for the movement. Miyuki clicked his tongue, and spared a glance for Nishiura’s captain. He seemed nervous, Miyuki noted, and signed for a strike. As soon as the trajectory of the pitch was clear, Hanai made Tajima’s wish come true. The ball flew over the fence, and Tajima shouted in surprise.

 

“I didn’t think you actually had it in you!” he teased, trotting around the bases, followed by Hanai, who blushed, surprised himself. Normally, he didn’t do so well during his first at bat. He usually got a hit, but not a home run. As they returned to the dugout, and Abe stepped out to the plate, he realized they were tied. Momoe grinned at Kataoka from the dugout.

 

“Go easy on us, eh?” Miyuki jeered, as Abe took his place in the batter’s box, squaring up to what he remembered of Furuya’s pitching. Poor control, lots of power, and predictable movement. Depending on how he made contact, he could start the second inning, or pull Nishiura into the lead.

 

Abe ignored Miyuki’s attempt at distraction, and focused on the pitch. Low, ball. The next, high, a ball again. The third, a strike, which Abe fouled. The fourth, another strike, another foul.

 

“Give me a real pitch,” Abe grunted, and Miyuki laughed. Furuya seemed to perk up, at whatever pitch Miyuki had called for, and Abe prepared to swing. The ball came, and Abe let it pass. Another ball. The pitcher had cornered himself inadvertently, and Abe snorted. Miyuki frowned. Normally, Furuya’s pitches made it to the strike zone. He called for a strike down the center.

 

Abe smirked, and swung, hitting it solidly enough that the ball flew, low, somewhere towards the shortstop. Abe ran as fast as his legs could carry him, and he somehow made it to first base, Mihashi’s impressed crowing reaching his ears, as he turned to give Sakaeguchi a thumbs up.

 

The next three innings passed relatively uneventfully, with Seidou pulling back into the lead with a single run in the second inning, and Furuya managing to prevent everyone but Tajima and Hanai from getting on base. As Mihashi ran out to the mound, he noticed a small commotion in the dugout opposite him, Eijun yelling something incomprehensible. The inning went by with little excitement, Seidou being unable to gain any more runs.

 

As Nishiura moved off the field, a different pitcher exited the Seidou dugout. Tajima grinned over his shoulder, and caught up to Mihashi, who was already scampering off to the bullpen to meet Abe. The new pitcher, Kawakami, a second year sidearmer, took some getting used to, but as the game stretched out, they slowly began to anticipate the movement. They tied the score again in the bottom of the fifth. By the sixth inning, Kawakami’s pitching was rendered almost ineffective by Tajima, Hanai, and Abe. Nishiura left the field after three clean strikeouts by Mihashi and Abe, and Seidou surged onto the pitch, Eijun amongst them.

 

Mihashi and Abe watched the battery warm up from the bullpen. Abe snorted, shaking his head, and turned back to Mihashi, who stared nervously at his new friend and the intimidating catcher.

 

“Hey,” Abe began, startling Mihashi out of his thoughts, “Do you think _they_ realize?”

 

“R-real...ize?” Mihashi chirped in confusion, and then looked back to the battery. Miyuki’s face had a certain look on it that he hadn’t had with the two pitchers before Eijun, and Eijun simply looked ecstatic to be pitching, finally.

 

“Oh!” Mihashi finally said, and turned to Abe, furiously shaking his head. Abe snorted again, and threw the ball back to his pitcher, squatting and raising his glove.

 

“I wonder if we should give them a hint before we leave,” Abe mused, and Mihashi looked horrified.

 

“They! Need! On their own!” he said as he pitched, and Abe shrugged, catching the ball and tossing it back.

 

“Some people won’t make a move if they don’t think they have a chance,” Abe replied, and Mihashi hummed, still looking opposed to the idea of interfering.

 

“S-Sawamura-kun doesn’t - Miyuki-san? They don’t, or, _he_ doesn’t.” Mihashi explained, pitching again, not really paying attention to the course of the ball. It still fell with a puff of dust in Abe’s mitt, so no harm done.

 

“I don’t know about that, Miyuki-san was complaining about Sawamura-kun pestering him to pitch at all hours,” Abe said, leisurely returning the ball.

 

“He??? Sawamura-kun???” Mihashi wondered out loud, cocking his head like a bird as he thought, “Maybe! Miyuki-san is, not nice?”

 

“I can see that,” Abe chuckled, and Mihashi pitched, straight down the center, “He doesn’t seem to be too unhappy about catching for Sawamura-kun when he asks, though.”

 

Mihashi and Abe both turned to look at Miyuki’s face, which was the brightest it’d been all day. Eijun had a similar expression, his golden eyes gleaming as he pitched.

 

“Hey, _lovebirds!_ ” Tajima shouted from the dugout, catching Abe and Mihashi’s attention, as Mihashi squawked, burning bright red, and Abe stood up from his crouch, turning on his heel to stare down Tajima, who laughed.

 

“We’re up really soon!” he announced, and then went back to whatever he was originally doing. Abe turned to give the Seidou players a nervous glance. He didn’t necessarily have a bad feeling about them, but he never knew what a team’s opinion on him and Mihashi would be. Mihashi looked like he was doomed.

 

Tajima’s warning came true, as Oki struck out, and immediately, the Seidou team ran off the field, to be replaced by Nishiura.

 

Mihashi took his place on the mound, more nervous than he had been before, thanks to Tajima’s loud shout. The third baseman looked remorseful, but knew an apology would just make the situation worse at the moment.

 

The first batter, which happened to be Miyuki, stepped up to the plate. From the dugout, shouts of encouragement were interrupted by, “Beat the curse! Hit with no runners!” and “YOU’RE ONE TO TALK!”

 

Miyuki snorted at Eijun’s remark, and went through his before-batting routine. Abe signed for a high inside shoot, and Mihashi nodded, shaking nervously as he pitched. Miyuki made contact, and the ball flew straight into Sakaeguchi’s glove.

 

“On the first hit, too!” Eijun cried, as Miyuki jogged back the the dugout. The next batter struck out similarly. The lineup reset, and Kuramochi walked up to the plate.

 

Just like the first time, Kuramochi hit Mihashi’s pitch to a difficult place. He made it to first before the ball did. Ryosuke didn’t stall this time, as he had in the previous at-bats. He swung on the first pitch, and knocked it all the way past Mizutani, the ball falling just before the fence. Kuramochi made it to third, and Ryosuke to second, before the ball made it to the infield. Abe cursed, with two runners in a position to score, and the cleanups approaching, Seidou was almost certain to get a run or two.

 

Mihashi seemed to think the same thing, and stared, wide eyed, at the next batter, Jun, who barked a laugh and waved his bat in anticipation. Abe signed for a low, outside curve, and Mihashi complied. His ball flew straight into Jun’s bat, and over their heads, to just between center and right. Hanai made it to the ball, throwing it straight to home. Abe cursed, as Kuramochi ran past him with a cackle, and caught the ball, immediately covering home plate to discourage Ryosuke from running for it. Seidou’s captain and cleanup stepped up to the batter’s box.

 

“One out!” Abe reminded, and Mihashi jumped, shouting an echo on reflex.

 

They somehow prevented Yuki from hitting a home run, though both Ryosuke and Jun made it home on an error. Abe noticed Mihashi’s morose expression, and held back a snort, realizing he  had called time out at this exact point in the first inning.

 

“Time, please.”

 

Abe jogged up to Mihashi, and stopped in front of him, holding up his hand.

 

“It’s weird to do this more than once a game,” Abe said, and Mihashi jumped, placing his hand on Abe’s. It was freezing.

 

“This is just a practice game, Mihashi,” Abe reminded, and Mihashi nodded, swallowing.

 

“I... I’m used to getting hit... but... t-”

 

“I know. I’m sorry, I’ve been calling bad pitches,” Abe admitted, and Mihashi squawked, his free hand flapping around aggressively.

 

“You’re! I’m!” Mihashi protested, and Abe shrugged.

 

“I’m not exactly going at this with a proper strategy,” he continued, and Mihashi squawked again, his hand twitching against Abe’s. Abe threaded their fingers together, and Mihashi blushed bright red.

 

“A-A-Abe-k-kun!” Mihashi chirped, and Abe released his hand after giving it a tight squeeze, a soft smile on his face.

 

“Don’t be afraid to shake me off if you don’t want to throw my calls.” Abe said, and Mihashi nodded, grabbing Abe’s wrist as he turned to leave.

 

“What?”

 

“Abe-kun! You’re... _important!_ I... thank - Catching!”

 

Abe stared at him, confused, before his mind filled in the gaps. He quickly turned away, and huffed, “You too, you know.”

 

He jogged back to home plate, slipping his mask back on and hoping no one noticed how red his own face was. Mihashi always said things like that at the most inopportune times. At least no one else had heard, Abe mused, signing for a classic fastball down the middle. Mihashi shook his head, and Abe grinned, suggesting a high center slider.

 

The pitch fell perfectly into Abe’s glove.

 

The final inning came before they knew it, sneaking up on both teams. Seidou was ahead by two runs, but Nishiura’s lineup had come back around to the beginning.

 

Tajima stepped up to the plate, hooting excitedly. He’d already hit off of Eijun, but the first year pitcher’s moving fastball was as fun to hit as it was the first time he’d done it. The break appeared to be random, so Tajima had to hope he’d hit every time he swung the bat. Eijun pitched, and Tajima grinned, swinging with all of this strength. To his surprise, the ball flew. Far.

 

It cleared the shortest part of the fence, and Tajima stared as he ran, shocked he’d successfully hit an actual home run.

 

Momoe squealed from the dugout, clasping her hands in front of her face in pride. Tajima was still too small to hit it clean out of the park on an official baseball pitch, but he’d managed to clear the fence that was the shortest distance from himself. Next to her, Hanai was cheering for his teammate loudly, as was the rest of the dugout. Mihashi seemed especially impressed, shouting wordlessly at his friend, as the next person in their lineup stepped up to the plate.

 

One out, a runner on base, and Hanai in the batter’s box was where they found themselves a few minutes later. Hanai grunted, acting as if he was going to swing at the pitch, and then smoothly transitioned into a bunt, gently knocking the ball along the third base line, and running as fast as he could towards first. He heard the Seidou pitcher shouting something about it being a beautiful bunt, as he was thrown out. The runner had advanced successfully, though, so as far as he was concerned, his job was complete.

 

Abe gave Miyuki a particular look as he stepped up to bat, and whispered just quietly enough that the umpire couldn’t hear, “You have an _interesting_ battery.”

 

“Haha, why, thank you!” Miyuki cackled, and Abe nodded, “Though, you two need to work on your _communication_.

 

Abe let the pitch pass, as Miyuki snorted, confused by Abe's emphasis, “What, like you’re one to talk?”

 

“Oh, I don’t know,” Abe retorted, as Miyuki tossed the ball back to Eijun, “At least Mihashi and I are on the same, ah, _page?_ ”

 

Miyuki narrowed his eyes at the catcher, and then turned his attention back to Eijun, who was awaiting his pitch calling.

 

“I don’t need to hold hands with my pitchers to work well with them,” Miyuki replied, unsure of what Abe was referencing. The pitch came, and Abe swung, sending it back towards left field, just barely a fair ball. As Abe took off running, he said, “I don’t _need_ to, either.”

 

Miyuki stared after the catcher in confusion, and then at Eijun, who was shouting at Furuya in left field, who was chasing after the ball.

 

“What a weird team...” Miyuki mused, “Furuya! Back home!”

 

Nishiura ended up winning by a single run.

 

“Good game!” both sides shouted, before turning to stare at Kataoka and Momoe for instructions.

 

“The managers have prepared some food for both teams,” Kataoka announced, and Nishiura crowed with excitement.

 

“After we eat, we’ll talk about what each team could’ve done better, and you will all have a half hour of free time. Then, we’ll get home!” Momoe said, mostly focusing on her team.

 

“Yes!” the boys all shouted, and the managers showed up, trays full of onigiri stacked high. Shinooka had a few trays of her own, her distinctive onigiri different from the cleanly shaped ones of Seidou. The Seidou boys rushed up to their managers, grabbing onigiri while shouting thank-yous, while Nishiura took their usual approach of letting Shinooka hand them out at her own pace.

 

They ate quickly, all hungry after their long, exhausting game. After they finished, Momoe cleared her throat, and began to talk to Seidou about their techniques, critiquing and complimenting, before laughing, and making several offhanded comments. Kataoka did the same with Nishiura, with less joking around.

 

“You all have a half hour of free time now,” Momoe smiled, and then clapped her hands, “Have fun! Make friends! We don’t know when we’ll get a chance like this again.”

 

She released the boys, and Eijun immediately dragged Haruichi and Furuya over to Abe, Mihashi, and Tajima.

 

“Harucchi! You wanted to talk to Tajima?!” Eijun shouted, causing his pink haired friend’s face to flush. Tajima grinned widely, and sat up straight.

 

“You’re so _cool!_ ” Tajima said, “You hit every at-bat!”

 

“You did too,” Haruichi replied, his blush burning brighter, “Thank you, though! Do you also use a wooden bat?”

 

“Soooo,” Eijun said, after Tajima and Haruichi became engrossed in their own conversation, turning to face Mihashi and Abe, with Furuya awkwardly standing next to him.

 

“Yes?” Abe said, after several seconds of silence.

 

“What’d you say to Miyuki Kazuya to make him so sulky?” Eijun blurted out, and then hurriedly looked over his shoulder, to ensure Miyuki hadn’t heard him. The catcher was talking with Kuramochi and Suyama, or rather, he was listening to them talk, and throwing in a remark every few seconds.

 

“A-Abe-kun!” Mihashi turned to stare at his catcher, who carefully avoided Mihashi’s eyes.

 

“I just said you two made an _interesting battery_ ,” Abe said, not entirely lying. Mihashi poked him in the side, and gave him a forlorn look. Abe sighed.

 

“You, should maybe, um, come with us? I don’t think Furuya-kun wants to hear this.”

 

Furuya gladly took his leave, bouncing over to Miyuki, and immediately requesting he catch his pitch.

 

“What?” Eijun said, curiosity eating away at him.

 

“You... Miyuki-san?” Mihashi replied, pointing between the two, and then pointed at himself and Abe, who smiled against his will. Eijun stared at them blankly, and Mihashi blushed.

 

“Nevermind...” Mihashi said slowly, and Eijun was about to protest before he understood what Mihashi had been implying.

 

“WAIT! NO! _NO!_ ” Eijun shouted, drawing everyone’s attention to the three. Mihashi hid behind Abe, who was laughing so hard he had doubled over, Eijun’s scandalized expression proving too much for him.

 

“NEVER!” Eijun continued, shaking his head and then pointing at Mihashi accusatorily.

 

“ARE YOU TRYING TO BRAINWASH ME?”

 

Mihashi squeaked, and Abe laughed even harder. Apparently, the situation was too much for Miyuki to ignore, as the catcher walked up behind Eijun and elbowed him in the side.

 

Eijun jumped away as if he’d been scalded by the touch, and pointed at Miyuki.

 

“What the-”

 

“NOPE! _NOT HAPPENING!_ ” Eijun screeched. Kuramochi’s laughter soon joined Abe’s as his kouhai turned bright red, turning back to Mihashi with a helpless expression.

 

“Abe-kun, _wh_ -” Miyuki tried again, and Eijun screamed, cutting him off as Kuramochi took him into a chokehold.

 

Mihashi watched the trainwreck unfolding in front of him, and then jumped about five feet in the air when he felt Hanai’s hand land on his shoulder.

 

“What’s _happening_ over here?” he asked, and Mihashi helplessly shrugged. Eijun was crying now, Kuramochi keeping him trapped in a headlock, and Miyuki was trying to draw information from Abe, who had just recovered his breath.

 

“What did you say?”

 

“Nothing, just what I said to you.”

 

“Oh, _Jesus_ ,” Miyuki groaned, and ran a hand down his face.

  
Abe burst into laughter again.


End file.
